The Camper in the Tent
by Gemini96
Summary: Booth and Brennan are called to a body found underneath a bridge, they have to find the killer before he strikes again. Possible B&B, i'm not sure yet. Rated k . My first fanfic, hope you enjoy it!
1. Chapter 1

**My first fanfic, hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own bones, so anything you recognise probably isn't mine.**

"Female, Caucasian, mid to late thirties." Brennan looked up at her partner Booth as she delivered the next bit of news, "It looks like she's given birth."

Booth's face fell at the news; he hated having to tell husbands and children that their wife or mother was dead.

"Fine, great work Bones."

The body in front of them was wrapped up in a black tarpaulin sheet; a couple of drunks had found it in the early hours of the morning and had called 911.

"What do you need to be brought back to the Jeffersonian, apart from the body?" Booth asked turning back to Bones, who was now on her feet and taking pictures of the crime scene.

"I'll need soil samples and the tarp she was wrapped up in; oh, and those men's shoes." She pointed towards the men who had found the body.

"Why do you need their shoes?" Booth was used to this sort of random comment coming out of his partner's mouth, but her asking for shoes definitely a first.

"Do see how the head has been knocked to one side? It doesn't fall with the way the body is laying. To me it looks like it's been kicked, it also dislodged the sheet."

"Still not understanding why you need the shoes."

"One of those men must have kicked the body in a drunken haze. The shoe came into contact with the remains. It may have particulates or small bone fragments. Is that more understandable?"

"Yeah that seems to make a bit more sense." Turning towards the local police sheriff he yelled "Hey Sheriff, we need the shoes."

"The shoes? You want the shoes?"

"Yeah the shoes, Dr, Brennan needs them."

The sheriff turned towards the men and Booth saw the looks of confusion pass over their faces as they were asked to remove their shoes. Booth was trying not to laugh, but to see grown men in socks was somehow amusing to him.

"Booth, can we go? I'm done here," Bones took off her gloves, grabbed her bag and started to walk towards the car.

"Sure, let's go."

"Okay, so the facial reconstruction I did got a hit off the missing persons database, the victim is Eliza Lamb, aged 38. She was reported missing by her husband three weeks ago. Dental records match." Angela Montenegro handed a file to her best friend.

"Thank you. I'll go and call Booth, he'll want to go and talk to the family straight away." Brennan headed for the steps but Angela caught her arm.

"Sweetie, we're all going out for drinks tonight, do you want to come?" She felt sorry for her best friend, ever since she told Booth how she felt; she had been working late and hadn't left the lab, except when she needed to change her clothes. She slept in her office most nights.

"I have to identify a 400 year old skeleton."

"But-"

She was already gone.

"Did you find out anything else about the victim?" Booth looked at his partner.

"She sewed a lot, the joints in her fingers show markers of it. There were a few broken bones but no clear cause of death. I'll have a more in depth look when I get back to the lab. How about you, what was in her file?"

"Eliza Lamb married to James Lamb, owner of a camping store, mother of three children Beth, Lucy and Jack. She made homemade quilts." He handed over the file and Brennan flicked through it.

"It says here that there was a domestic disturbance a few weeks before she was reported missing."

"I saw that too."

"It doesn't say much else, that's unusual, there's usually a report."

"That's why we're going to talk to the family."

"Oh, so they can fill in the spaces."

"Blanks Bones, blanks. So they can fill in the blanks."

Booth smiled at Bones attempt, it was one of the things he really loved about her, she was so clueless about this type of thing, but Bones being Bones had to have a go.

"Booth. Hey Booth. You missed the turning."

"Wha-? Oh right." Booth did a barely legal u-turn and turned off at the right turning.

Booth knocked on the door and stepped back to stand next to his partner. A girl that looked about ten opened the door; she looked just like the victim.

"May I help you?"

"Hello, we're from the FBI is your dad here?"

"Yes. I'll call him for you," she turned her back and yelled into the house, "Dad! There's some people at the door, they say they're from the FBI."

A man's head popped out from a door of to the right. He had greying hair and glasses that made him look slightly like an owl.

"The FBI?" He came to join his daughter at the door.

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth, and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan. May we talk to you?"

Before answering them he looked at his daughter, "Bethy, could you go and play with your sister for a few minutes while daddy speaks to these nice people?" he ruffled her hair as she ran off up the stairs.

"Please, come in. Is this about Eliza?"

"I'm afraid so sir. Her body was found this morning. We're so sorry for your loss."

James Lamb fell into a seat and ran his hand through his hair.

"I knew something was wrong, I could feel it. What happened to her?"

"We believe she was murdered." Bones chipped in.

He looked up at Booth with watery eyes, "How am I going to tell the kids?"

"I know this is a difficult time, Mr Lamb, but I need to ask you a couple of questions. Is that alright?"

"Of course, anything that will help."

"Did your wife have any enemies? Anyone that may have wanted to hurt her?"

"No, everyone loved her. But there was this one guy, she went out with when she was in high school, they were voted most likely to get married. She broke it off years ago, but she still got mail off him. She always freaked out when she got a letter, she'd go crazy for a few days, start cleaning excessively."

"Do you have a name?" asked Agent Booth.

"Jenkins. Chase Jenkins." He said the name like it was a bad taste in his mouth.

"I'm sorry about this next question, but I need to ask. There was a domestic disturbance complaint registered about a month ago. Can you tell me what happened?"

"It was nothing. She got another letter, it spooked her. She forgot to pick Lucy up from dancing. I had to go get her, and then shouted at Eliza for forgetting about her own child. One of the neighbours heard and called the police. That's it Agent Booth. I would never hurt my wife. I was frustrated, our life was ruled by these letters, I needed it to stop."

"Do you know where she kept the letters?"

"Sorry, no. She would hide them after she read them. I'll have a look if you'd like."

"That would be great. Thank you." Booth got up to leave and Bones followed his lead. "Once again, I'm sorry for your loss." Then to Bones he said, "C'mon, let's go." They walked out of the house and headed for Booths monster of a car.

"What do we do now?" asked Brennan.

"We go and find the creepy guy who was sending letters, they were obviously upsetting her."

**We shall meet the so called 'creepy guy' in the next chapter. I'll upload it soon. Reviews are welcome. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the lovely reviews people sent me. It was odd, I admit, to hear what people thought about what I wrote, but the positive things people said were really nice. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones, so anything you recognise probably isn't mine.**

"Dr. Hodgins, have you discovered a definitive time of death?" Dr Temperance Brennan clipped her badge back onto her lab coat after swiping it to get on to the platform. Jack Hodgins walked towards her file in hand.

"Insect activity suggests that the time of death was 3 weeks ago."

"Did you found anything interesting in the soil samples?"

"I'm running them down now. The ones I've looked at are nothing special, just dirt."

"I thought you said you didn't like the term 'dirt'."

"I don't, but 'dirt' pretty much sums up what I found."

"I need you to get Angela to see if she can narrow down where the material the victim was wrapped in came from. Alert me if you find anything, I must talk to Booth and confirm time of death." Turning to the intern that was assisting her that week she said, "Mr Nigel-Murray would you please look at the remains and catalogue any fractures, or possible causes of death."

Mr Nigel-Murray nodded in response as Dr. Brennan left the platform.

Brennan picked up her phone and speed-dialled Booth.

"Hodgins confirmed time of death; it was definitely three weeks ago."  
"Great work Bones."

"Have you found this Chase Jenkins yet?"

"Yep. I'm on my way to pick you up now so we can go question him."

"Oh, I'll grab my coat and wait for you in the parking lot."

"Where did you find him?" asked Bones, climbing into the car.

"The local police department arrested him early this morning for brawling in a bar. He was drunk, but the guys at the police department say he's sobered up enough for us to be able to question him. They're bringing him in for us."

"He has quite a list of crimes," said Bones looking through the folder she moved off the seat. Booth inwardly rolled his eyes; she meant 'rap sheet'.

"Mostly petty theft and drunk and disorderly, although there's a nasty one in there for embezzlement; apparently he tried to scam a police officer out of some money."

"He's not a very clever criminal," Brennan pointed out

"They never are Bones."

"Howard Epps had a very high IQ; he was a very clever criminal."

"He still wasn't very clever, Bones."

"What do you mean? He-"

"He was a criminal. He killed people. In my book that means you're not clever."

"Which book is this?"

"Bones, we are going to drive the rest of the way in silence."

"Why?"

"Shhh."

"Chase Jenkins." Booth dropped a folder on the table in front of the man seated at the table in the interrogation room. He sat sprawled out, his legs stretched out as far as they would go and one arm rested on the back of the chair.

"Who wants to know?" he asked smiling cockily.

"Me. The FBI. The family of the woman you murdered."

Chase Jenkins suddenly became less comfortable with his surroundings.

"Whoa. I didn't murder anybody." His eyes darted between Booth and Brennan looking for some sign that they believed him.

"Well right now, you're our prime suspect. So I suggest you start talking."

"Am I allowed to know who I'm supposed to have killed?"

Brennan looked directly at Chase as she delivered the news

"Eliza Lamb. Apparently you two used to go out in high school"

"What? Eliza's dead? How?" he ran his hand through his hair, the exact mirror image of the thing Eliza's husband had done the day before.

"We hoped you could tell us that."

"I didn't kill her, I would never hurt her."

"Let me guess, you loved her too?"

"No. Not for a long time, but she was one of my best friends. She helped me out of a couple tight spots."

"Oh yeah? What kind of tight spots?"

Chase coughed quietly and lowered his voice "Well money sometimes got a little tight, I'd write a letter, we'd meet up and she'd give me some money."

"Just like that?" asked Booth.

"Just like that." Chase answered.

Booth looked across at Bones, "Is it just me that thinks this story is complete rubbish?"

"No I'm finding it every bit as unfeasible as you do." Brennan said.

They both turned to look at the suspect. "Yeah, we don't believe you."

"There might have been a bit more to it than that," admitted Chase sinking lower into his chair.

"Care to share?"

"Let's say, hypothetically of course, I had a piece of sensitive information that I used to my advantage."

"So you blackmailed her."

"That's not the way I would put it exactly, but I suppose so."

"What did you have on her?"

"Why would I tell you that?"

"You are the number one suspect in a murder investigation, it'll go in your favour if you're found to be co-operating with law enforcement."

"Fine," Chase said raising his hands in defeat, "She cheated on her SAT's. She didn't want it getting out. So the deal was I kept quiet if she bailed me out every once in a while."

"What did it matter if it got out? It happened ages ago."

"Something about family honour and not wanting to set a bad example for her kids."

Dr. Brennan glared at Chase, "I'd hate to have you as a best friend; you certainly don't treat them well."

"I'm holding you on the blackmail." Booth said, dropping the file he had been looking through.

"What? But-?"

Booth stood up and Brennan followed his lead, "We'll talk again soon."

As they walked out of the interrogation room, Brennan turned to Booth, "I don't like him."

"Me neither Bones, me neither."

Booth and Brennan where getting into the car to go back to the Jeffersonian when Brennan's phone rang.

"Brennan."

"Sweetie, it's me." Brennan put the phone on loudspeaker so Booth could listen too, "Hodgins said you wanted me to run down where that tarp came from."

"That would be correct. Have you found something?"

"Yeah, I managed to track down the tarp we found the victim wrapped in; it's a ground sheet for a tent."

"Great Work Angela, you can fill me in when we get back to the Jeffersonian." Brennan moved to hang up.

"No, sweetie wait. It's quite a rare item to find in shops, you only find it in specialised camping stores. This particular make and colour is only sold in one store in DC."

"And that store is?"

"Lamb's Camping."

"I take it the shop belongs to the victim's husband."

"Correct."

"Thank you Angela, I'll see you later."

Hanging up Brennan turned to Booth, "We're not going straight back to the Jeffersonian are we?"

**I hope that lived up to your expectations. I had a lot of fun with the conversation between Booth and Chase. The next chapter might not be up until the weekend, I'm really busy for the rest of the week! Thank you for reading, reviews are welcome :0)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is there new chapter, I know I promised I would have it out A LOT sooner than this but I have been very busy, it was nice to write again. Hope you enjoy it. Feel free to review, it always makes my day. :0)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own bones, so anything you recognise probably isn't mine.**

Booth and Brennan pulled into the parking lot of 'Lamb's Camping' and proceeded to get out of Booth's huge company car.

"This is a very strange turn of events, Booth. I found the husband's display of emotion to be incredibly convincing. I find I am confused by his guilt."

"Whoa, slow down there Bones, he may not be guilty."

"All the current evidence points to him"

"I thought you hated conjecture."

"I find I am particularly negatively affected by this case. I am very anxious to catch the killer."

"That doesn't mean you immediately say that the husband did it. We have to go talk to him first."

"It was you who told me that the first suspect in a case is the spouse."

"I really need to stop telling you these things" Booth said making a mental note of the fact, "Come on Bones, let's go talk to the guy. Try not to make it obvious that you think he killed his wife."

"Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan," James Lamb said, nodding in acknowledgement to each of them in turn, "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon. What may I help you with?"

Booth coughed before continuing, "Some new evidence has come to light since we last met. It involves your shop."

"Ah, I see. May I ask what it is?"

"Your wife was found wrapped up in a sheet; we found it was a type of tarpaulin that is only sold in your shop."

"You mean one of my employees or customers killed my wife?" He looked between Booth and Brennan, with wide eyes, and then something dawned on him, "You think I did it?"

"That's one of our lines of enquiries." admitted Booth.

"Please, you've got to believe me, I could never kill her." He glanced between the pair.

"Mr Lamb, it isn't our only line of enquiry, but we need to follow all the leads that present themselves. We need to ask you a few more questions."

"Of course," he had recovered from the shock of being formally considered as a suspect by now, "Please, come into my office."

Bones and Booth followed James into a small office and sat down in the chairs facing the desk.

Booth looked down checking his notes, "The product is a 'Camping Life' grey ground sheet. How many have you sold in the past 6 months?"

James Lamb turned to his computer and typed a few words in, "I've only sold 7 in the past 6 months. They aren't the biggest seller, as they're quite expensive."

"Is there any way to find out who bought them?"

"I keep a list of the people who buy products made by that company, if they have any problems and need to return what they buy." He caught Booth's confused look, and started to explain, "We had a problem a few years ago with a product that was faulty, and lots of people had to bring it back to us. But the company refused to take the product back without a proof of purchase from the shop as well as the customer. It was a stupid policy, but to reassure our customers, we keep a log of who buys which product if that problem ever arises again."

"Can we have a list of these people?"

"Of course," Mr Lamb started to copy down a list of the people on to a piece of paper, after a few minutes he paused.

"What's wrong Sir?"

"There are two of my employees on this list. One of them is my brother"

"Edward, come over here for a second."

A man's head popped up from in-between the aisles. He looked very similar to James; Brennan could only conclude that this was his brother.

"Can it wait for a minute? I have-" Edward was suddenly quiet, Brennan looked towards Booth and saw him flash his badge at the second Mr. Lamb.

Edward walked quickly towards the trio, running his hand through his hair, a move Booth noticed, as something his brother also did.

"How may I help you Agent…?"

"Booth, Special Agent Seeley Booth. This is my partner Temperance Brennan. We're investigating the death of your sister-in-law. We just have a couple of questions."

Edward motioned with his hand for them to continue.

"Mrs Lamb was wrapped up in a tarpaulin sheet, this particular brand and colour is only available at this store, and your name was on a list of people who bought it. We were wondering what you bought it for."

"Well, I took a camping trip a few weeks ago, my groundsheet was attacked by moths while it was in the attic, so I needed a new one. I bought it last minute and had to get the most expensive, all the other were out of stock."

"Can you give me exact dates for the camping trip?" Booth asked making a note in his notebook and looking up.

"January the 7th to the 9th, I took the Friday off and made it a long weekend."

Brennan looked at Booth, and moved to whisper in his ear, "That fits the time of death."

"Mr Lamb," he said to Edward, "Can anyone corroborate your whereabouts?"

"Err, sure, the campsite manager should be able to."

"And the tarpaulin sheet, do you know where it is? In your car maybe?"

"I cycle to most places, you know save the environment and all that. I'm a member of Greenpeace," he reached into his pocket, "Do you want some badges?" he asked.

"No thank you. Could you have a look for the tarpaulin and call me when you see it we need to rule you out." Booth asked, holding out his card.  
"Sure, no problem." Edward replied taking the card. He turned to leave.

"One more question Mr Lamb, What was your relationship like with your sister-in-law?"

Edward looked taken aback with the question, "She was my brother's wife, she was family, and I loved her like a sister. I could never hurt her. Can I get back to work now?" He asked, before walking off after a nod from Booth.

James Lamb had been quiet throughout the whole of the interview, "Do you think he did it?" he looked troubled with the fact that his brother could be the killer of his wife.

Booth shrugged his shoulders, "It's possible I suppose, but really unlikely. I mean can you see your own brother killing your wife?"

This seemed to put James' mind slightly more at ease, "No I can't, you're right. The other person on that list, Tracy, she isn't in today. She's on a camping trip with her husband and kids. I can give you her number, but there probably isn't any phone reception where she is."

He walked to his office and returned a few minutes later with her contact details.

"Thank you Agent Booth, I suppose I'll be seeing you soon?"

"Hopefully, we'll have better news next time."

Brennan and Booth walked out of the shop together and headed for the SUV.

"So Bones, do you still think the husband did it?"

"No, I am beginning to see your point; he did seem to genuinely like her."

"Like? What you saw there was love."

"I don't believe in love. It's irrational and silly, nothing more than children's tales."

"As much as I hate to stop you mid rant, my phone's ringing."

Booth answered his phone, but didn't put it on loudspeaker, like he usually did; he was slightly annoyed with Bones and her views on love. But what he was being told on this phone call way surpassed that, and he got off the phone fuming.

"What's wrong Booth?"

"You know the blackmailing charges we were holding Chase Jenkins on? They can't make them stick; they're releasing him later today."

"I can understand why that makes you angry Booth, that is incredibly problematic. What are we going to do?"

"I have no idea Bones."

**Hope it was worth the wait. Reviews are welcome :0)**


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